RUGBY
Leinster look every inch European contenders after demolition of Glasgow Warriors
By Daire Walsh
LEINSTER produced another serious statement of intent against Glasgow Warriors at the RDS on Sunday afternoon, and also became the first team to book a Champions Cup quarter-final place in the process.
Glasgow were the last team to handed out a competitive defeat to the Blues – a round eight encounter in the Guinness PRO14 back in November.
The Scottish club are currently flying high in Conference A of the revamped league with 12 wins from 13 games, but have been strangely subdued in Pool Three of European rugby’s premier competition.
Four straight losses effectively ruled them out of contention for the knockout rounds, and they fielded with a number of first-choice operators for their latest trip to Dublin.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen also saw this an ideal opportunity to test the much-talked strength in depth within the province – the inclusion of Jordan Larmour and James Lowe in the back-three being of particular interest to the RDS faithful.
They were joined there by Suncroft’s Fergus McFadden, who has been a regular fixture in the Leinster side since the round three victory over Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. Cian Healy returned from the suspension he served as a result of an incident in the reserve fixture with the Chiefs, but after regaining confidence in his absence, Jack McGrath was favoured in the loosehead position.
He was joined in the pack by fellow Irish internationals Sean Cronin, Tadhg Furlong, Devin Toner, Jordi Murphy, Josh van der Flier and Jack Conan, while ex-Wallabie Scott Fardy added considerable physical power in the second-row.
A converted Murphy try in the seventh-minute offered Leinster a dream start to the contest, though Glasgow would restore parity through Niko Matawalu. Yet, any hope that Glasgow had of causing soon evaporated, as Leinster claimed a bonus-point with just 34 minutes gone on the clock.
Skipper Isa Nacewa and Sean Cronin crossed over for the three-time Heineken Cup champions, before Fardy ensured that maximum points were on the horizon when he secured his first try since his summer arrival from the Brumbies.
A Sexton seven-pointer (to add to his three earlier conversions) helped Leinster to establish a 34-7 lead at half-time, and Nacewa continued the rout with his second try after the restart. The Warriors finally responded with an Adam Ashe five-pointer on the hour mark, and Matawalu added to his second score of the day inside the final-quarter.
However, this try was preceded by a similar effort from Lowe on his European debut, and Fardy’s second touchdown three minutes from time guided them towards a magnificent 55-19 success.
They can now enjoy a relatively stress-free trip to Montpellier next weekend, and may yet be joined in the last-eight by fellow pool leaders Ulster and Munster.